At the Salt Rock in Indian Rocks Beach Fl
Now that is a special surprise![]()
My View of Life on the Dock
Yet another great
Gloucester Business
Sears…? Yes.
Ed at Sears on Eastern Ave
sold me a terrific vacuum.![]()
Guided me to the sale item –
great price, great vacuum.
But had a little problem with the
wheel. Ed not only offered to fix
it but ran out to the hardware
store to get the right kind of
screws.
Long time later, I had another
little glitch. Vacuum just
stopped cleaning. So, I asked
Ed. He took it apart, found a
“catnip mouse” in the tube, and
put it back together. You’ll
never get service like that in a
big store.
Wow! Thanks Ed.
So, shop Sears in Gloucester,
and talk to Ed.

Those little Russian Tea Cakes are dope. You can also get Glosta Joe’s Coffee there (a great holiday present or stocking stuffer)
Hi Joey C & GMG Readers!
Rockport’s Downtown Merchants Group would like to invite their Cape Ann neighbors and friends to shop locally this holiday season, and have designated a full week in December as Shop Local Week. From Sunday, December 15 through Sunday, December 22, treat yourself and your family to the delightful experience of holiday season shopping amidst the Christmas tree lined streets and beautifully decorated shops of Rockport!
We hope to see you in Downtown Rockport!
Happy Holidays,
Dawn Noble
Rockport’s Downtown Merchants Group
Flock Rock
Hi Joey,
We had a flock of seagulls (not the ‘80s band) visit the cove to take shelter from the East wind on this rock last week.
Enjoy!
~Bill O’Connor
North Shore Kid
If you aren’t already, to get us in the mood for the holidays ~
I am patting myself on the back as all my gift boxes to friends and family far and wide are in the mail a few days earlier than usual. Hooray! Next hurdle is wrapping up design projects for client’s homes before Christmas, and then family time! I love getting together with loved ones during the holidays, but sometimes it can be a challenge. Then the thought of having a Dropkick Murphy’s kind of Christmas makes me laugh and I realize that, in comparison, nothing is unnavigable!
“The Season’s Upon Us” was submitted last year by GMG FOB Kathy. What is our favorite holiday song?
Thank you Fred for again hosting the GMG party. Great time had by all.
City of Gloucester
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CODE RED – Issued at 11 am on December 14, 2013
Good morning. This is Mayor Carolyn Kirk with an important message from the City of Gloucester’s code red emergency messaging system.
Effective at 11 pm tonight, Saturday, December 14, the city has declared a snow emergency and parking ban on all city streets due to the arriving snow and possible ice storm.
From 11pm tonight until Noon tomorrow, Sunday, December 15, all vehicles are banned from parking on city streets.
Violators of this emergency declaration are subject to ticketing and towing at the owners expense. Residents may park in municipal and school parking lots.
We anticipate that snow will freeze in place due to forecasted rain which will be followed by freezing temperatures. Your cooperation during this parking ban is necessary for efficient and safe snow clearing efforts.
To repeat, the city of Gloucester has issued a parking ban on all city streets as of 11pm tonight until Noon time tomorrow.
Thank you for listening, and this concludes this message.
Delicious and fun twist on traditional Italian Cannoli…makes a perfect dessert dip for holiday gatherings.
Italian Nachos
Ingredients
1 cup Mascarpone Cheese
3 cups fresh Ricotta Cheese
⅛ teaspoon pure vanilla powder (can substitute ½ teaspoon vanilla pure extract)
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 cups blended La Spagnola Vegetable and Olive Oils
8 flour Fajita Style Tortillas cut into eighths
2 cups granulated sugar
4 tablespoon ground italian cinnamon
½ cup mini chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon of holiday or festive candy pieces(optional)
Step-by-Step
1 Combine first five ingredients in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; mix on high speed 1 minute until smooth; reserve ricotta mixture
2 Combine sugar and cinnamon in medium mixing bowl; mix well
3 Line one cookie sheet with wire cookie rack; set aside near frying pan
4 In medium frying pan heat oil over high heat setting 3-4 minutes or until very hot
5 Working in batches carefully arrange 5-8 tortilla pieces in hot oil; cook 1 minute or until golden in color
6 Using long kitchen tongs, turn pieces; cook 1 additional minute
7 Using tongs remove golden pieces from oil ; arrange hot pieces standing up on wire cookie rack allowing excess oil to drip onto paper towel
8 Repeat steps 5-7 with remaining tortillas
9 Working in batches of 4-5, toss hot tortillas in cinnamon sugar mixture, coat all sides; reserve
10 Transfer reserved ricotta mixture to serving bowl, sprinkle top with chocolate morsels and optional candy pieces; place bowl in center of serving platter
11 Arrange cinnamon sugar tortillas around bowl on serving platter
Fresh Ricotta can be purchased at J. Pace & Sons, in Saugus Ma.
Note~Tortillas can be made up to 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature and the ricotta mixture can be prepared and stored refrigerated in airtight container up to 3 days
The Gloucester fire department received a call reporting a building fire on Rocky Neck Ave. Upon arrival firefighters found a 2 story wood framed workshop fully charged with smoke. Crews vented the 2nd floor of heat and smoke by breaking out windows and it was found to be fully involved with fire. Firefighters stretched a hose line up the ladder well to the 2nd floor and quickly knocked down the main body of fire. Due to a significant amount of contents firefighting personnel remained on scene sifting through the workshop for hot spots to prevent against a rekindle. Crews from Headquarters and West Gloucester responded while the crew from Bay View covered the city. The workshop and it’s contents were destroyed by the fire and there was 1 minor injury reported as the frigid conditions turned the water from the firefighter’s hose lines almost immediately into ice and created very slippery conditions. One firefighter reported neck and shoulder pain from a slip and fall. The property is owner reported he was on the 2nd floor in the workshop when he noticed it filling with smoke. Upon his investigation he found smoke and fire coming from the 1st floor wall in the area of an operating wood stove. He stated that he attempted to extinguish the fire himself before calling the fire department but was unsuccessful. An investigation determined the fire was unintentional and originated on the first floor in the interior wall around the area where the wood stove vents to the exterior and was most likely caused by years of pyrolysis.Deputy Chief Stephen Aiello 12/14/13 Stephen M. Aiello, Deputy ChiefGloucester Fire Department8 School StreetGloucester, MA. 01930
13 December, 2013
“Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.”
Margaret Atwood (1939 – )
Born in Canada to parents engaged in the study of forest entomology, Atwood spent much of her youth in the woods and did not attend school full time until she was a teenager. A voracious reader, she ultimately graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in English and the goal of becoming a writer. She did several years of postgraduate work at Radcliffe and Harvard, but did not finish her dissertation. Her poetry began to receive widespread notice in the 1960’s, but her novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1981) propelled her to celebrity status, winning the Arthur C. Clarke and Governor General’s award, and making her an icon of the feminist movement. Other works of speculative fiction, Oryx and Crake, (2003) and The Blind Assassin (2000) have won her the Booker Prize and the Dan David Prize, as well as a long list of honorary doctorates at prestigious institutions including Smith, Harvard, Oxford and the Sorbonne. Atwood is well regarded in humanist and liberal circles and is a member of the Green Party of Canada.